We Got Next

I'm part of the problem. I know it. I admit it. First thing I tried to do when I found out the WNBA was in NBA Street Homecourt was to try and play the team in shirts vs. skins mode. Damn tank tops.

All kidding aside, the WNBA has made great strides since the girls first showed their game in 1997. With ten seasons played, the WNBA has done a lot in terms of spreading the word, not only about women's basketball, but about women's athletics in general, providing role models to girls who want to be the next Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoops and not necessarily the next LeBron.

EA Sports is the first videogame company to embrace the league, and with NBA Street Homecourt (PS3, Xbox 360), they are now the first game company to release a game that includes WNBA ballers.

Diana Taurasi, Sheryl Swoops, Lisa Leslie, Lauren Jackson, Tamika Catchings, and Sue Bird are the featured players in the flashy street hoops title, and while some of them might not have the hops and high-flying antics of the men in the game, if you know how to play with gunners from behind the arc and ball movement, you can definitely give the men a run for their money. Not to mention the fact that you can still get some crazy air by jumping off one of your teammate's backs.

To the WNBA stars, though, it's not about the polygonal wins over the Cavs or Kings, as just being featured in the game is already a huge step forward.

"It's great for our league," San Antonio's Kendra Wecker told me during All-Star weekend in Vegas. "I was really excited when I heard about it because it's something the league needs to, not only get the WNBA out in front of more people, but the players themselves."

And what makes things even more special to players like Wecker is the fact that she's a wily old vet of the streetball scene herself.

"I played a lot of streetball growing up, especially in high school. I played mostly against guys, so this brings me back to those old school type games. It's more of a one-on-one, play around with the ball more, less of a team structured game. You're more free to do what you want, so I think that aspect really helps develop a player's individual game."

L.A.'s Temeka Johnson is another WNBA player excited about the game, telling me: "For EA Sports to do something like that, it makes me excited and I'm sure a lot of women out there will be extremely happy about it. I bet some men out there will be happy to play as us too, they just won't admit it."

To Swin Cash of Detroit, the inclusion in Street means that the WNBA is continuing to evolve into a more global phenomenon, and she knows the importance the videogame industry holds in helping shape minds across the world.

"Maybe we could get more girls to play videogames now," says Cash. "I know when I was growing up, all of the games seemed like they were for the guys. I played Ms. Pacman every now and then, but when Ms. Pacman is your only role model in gaming, that's a problem. It's about time girls have another option."

We Got Next isn't just a slogan. Thanks to EA Sports, it is now a reality in gaming.